Page 35 of Twice the Rivalry

The screen filled with images of their clubhouse, inside and out, and a few from around the grounds. And no surprise, whoever was on their land was coming in from the east, where the most tree cover was. Which meant they surveilled the area before they decided to approach. Her stomach tightened as she looked at the feeds from their cameras in the trees. She made sure they weren’t noticeable, and she was grateful because it meant she got to watch these bastards without them realizing it.

She counted five of them, all men, and all wearing black. The sun was setting there, but it wasn’t pitch dark yet, so she had to wonder why the hell they bothered. If they were going for cover, they weren’t all that smart about it. Then again, that area wasn’t easily seen so she supposed they probably thought they were covered perfectly well. A rookie mistake, which made her wonder just who they were. Their faces were covered with balaclavas, a surprising choice considering the heat.

“Any ideas who they are?” Simba asked grimly.

“They’re covered head to toe in black; hard to find any features that are recognizable,” Warg replied. “Hell, they’re even wearing leather gloves, which means they don’t want to chance leaving any prints behind.”

“Fuckers look like they’re trying to roast themselves out,” Taz remarked scornfully. “What kind of assassin wears all winter gear in the desert?”

“Stupid ones,” Copper stated.

“Or we’re thinking too American,” Glitch said grimly as she switched to another screen, watching their slow and careful approach towards the back door. They moved in perfect formation, no one stepping out ahead of the other. It was tactical, and seemed practiced. “We have a lot of enemies from other countries. Could be that whoever they are, they’re from a colder climate and this is all they had.”

“Good point,” Ursa agreed. “Look at them move. This is a team, one that’s been together for a while.”

“So we need to look at teams we worked with that had five or so members,” Simba announced.

“Already on it,” Glitch said absently, checking her databases for any crews that might have crossed their paths. It only took a few moments to get a full list, and she cursed. “I’ve got over a hundred here that we dealt with in some capacity or another. We’d need to narrow it down more. So unless one of them shows some skin or gives us a clue, we’re going to have to see what happens. They just hit the back door,” she announced grimly.

“Think they’ll be able to get through the scanners?” Simba asked her.

“Not if you want me to make sure they stay out,” she said determinedly. Already, one of them was kneeling at the back door, pulling out some gadget and plugging it into the device she had rigged there.

“Keep them out for now,” Simba ordered. “I want to know just how good they are. If they’re determined, they won’t want to set anything off until they know what they’re dealing with.”

Glitch cracked her neck and got to work. She kept her eyes on the code in front of her, getting ahead of whoever this asshole thought he was, though he was trying his best to get past her. She cursed when he almost slipped past her firewall, but she managed to shut him out just in time. She glanced at the security screen and saw the other men waiting, while the man on his computer worked furiously to disable her security.

“He’s not giving up,” Karissa remarked, finally speaking.

“He’s good,” Glitch agreed grimly. “But not as good as me. Still, he’s got enough skill to try and find back channels instead of just trying to break down the main wall. Which tells me he knows we’re not there, because if he did, he wouldn’t be wasting this much time.”

“Can they tell you’re the one trying to keep them out?” Simba asked.

“He’d have to,” she answered honestly. “And that’s probably why he’s trying to do this this way. He’s proving he’s good, and he wants to best me.”

“Sounds like he’s cocky,” Vulture grumbled. “But the guys behind him are getting impatient now.” She looked at the screen, and she saw that they were starting to fidget as they waited - sure sign that they thought it wouldn’t take this long. “Probably sweating their balls off in that heat,” Vulture added.

Suddenly, Code’s face was next to hers. Any other time she might have hissed at him, but she couldn’t focus on him now. “I’m going to get into your system,” Code told her briskly. “I’ll see if I can spot anything and help figure out who they are. So don’t kick me out.”

“I don’t have time to just let you in,” Glitch snapped at him. “You’re just going to get in my way.”

Code gave her a cool glare. “I’m going to help you and you’re going to let me. You focus on keeping him out, and I’ll focus on helping you figure out who they are.”

She wanted to argue, to remind him that she was perfectly capable of handling this herself, but Simba said, “Just let him do it, Glitch. You can kick his ass later. Right now, I want to know who these fuckers are, and if his help gets us that information faster, so be it.”

“Fine,” she gritted out, pissed that he would agree to such a thing. Did he think that she couldn’t handle this on own?

“Don’t get in your head, Glitch,” Simba warned her, clearly knowing what she was thinking. “You’re still a million times better, but I want you focused.”

She settled and replied, “Yes, sir. Though I’d like to point out that if you were here I’d probably punch you in the face.” She smirked when she heard a few of the guys chuckle.

“Noted,” Simba said drily.

She focused on the task at hand, and she wracked her brain to figure out who the hell this guy could be. She knew some experienced hackers, but this guy had some skills that she hadn’t seen in a long time. That alone narrowed the possibilities down considerably. She’d have to check that list once she dealt with this asshole. When she glanced at the screen again, she grinned when she saw that the men behind him were waving their hands in some kind of signal, trying to get him to hurry the hell up.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Simba asked, “Do you think you can keep him out permanently?”

“Yes,” she said confidently. “But that also increases the chances of them coming back. And next time, they may just take down the door instead of going through this.”

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